Instrument case



Oct. 12, 1937.v w. F. BRECHT INSTRUMENT CASE Filed Feb. 17, 1936VV////7m F Erec/zt ndentoz anon,

Patented Oct. 12, 1937 UNITED jsrArss PATENT ori ice oorporated, acorporation of Delaware Application February SerialNo. 64,417

3 Claims.

In the construction of cases for housing instruments or mechanisms, suchas meters, radios, balances, weighing scales, coffee mills, and soforth, and other articles of manufacture, it was 5 generally customaryto assemble separate parts, such as ends, sides, covers, bottoms, etc.,into a unit by overlapping portions of the parts and when the cases werelarge with the aid of a frame. This required the use of a relativelylarge num ber of screws, rivets or other fastening means which areunsightly and interfere with the eflicient cleansing of such cases whichfurthermore were not very rigid. To overcome these objections, suchcases have been molded in one piece from plastic materials by diecasting'in the case of metals or hot pressing in the case of moldingmaterials such as synthetic resins made by the condensation of urea andformaldehyde or phenol and formaldehyde. Cases so made are highlysatisfactory but have the disadvantage of requiring bulky and costlymolds even for medium sized articles.

I have found that it is possible to construct even very large cases, orother articles of manu- 25 facture, which are assembled from smallermolded parts thus materially decreasing size and costs of molds andeliminating other objectionable features heretofore encountered;therefore, one of the principal objects of my invention is the pro- 30vision of improved means whereby shaped parts may be assembled into arigid unit in which the parts are incapable of shifting after assembly.

Another object is the provision of improved means whereby all screws,used in assembling 35 such cases, are concealed in the interior.

Still another object is the provision of improved means for efiectivelyconcealing the joints formed by engaging edges of the parts entering theas sembly of the case.

40 Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription in which reference is had to the accompanying drawing,wherein similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

45 Referring to the drawing:--

Figure I is a perspective view of an assembled weighing scale case whichembodies my invention.

Figure II is an enlarged, fragmentary view of joint securing andconcealing means; and,

50 Figure III is a cross sectional View substantially along the lineIII-III of Figure II.

Referring to the drawing in detail:

The case 4 which I have shown by way of illustration comprises a frontpart or section 5,

55 and a back part or section 6, engaging edges 7 and 8 of the front andback sections 5 and 6 respectively, jut outwardly and form raisedsurfaces 9 and I having sloping shoulders II and I2 whichare adapted tobe embraced by correspondingly sloped flanges of a cover strip l3, whichmay be a strip rolled from stainless steel,

or other metal or material, cut to length and bent to conform to thecontour of the casing sections, or this cover strip may be molded toconform to the contours of the housing sections. 10 Bosses l4, eitherwelded to, if the strip is metal or molded integrally, project throughapertures l5 formed by coincident cut-out portions in the jutting edgesof the front and back sections 5 and 6 of the case 4. Screws l6 threadedinto'the l5 bosses M in cooperation with washers I! draw the flanges ofthe strip [3 tightly against the shoulders H and I 2 of the casingsections thus efficiently locking the section together. The slopes ofthe shoulders and of the flanges of the strip l3 may be so calculatedand designed that the edges of the section are tightly drawn together bya wedging action making the assembly a very rigid unit. The strip I3,however, serves another purpose, that of improving appearance byconcealing the joint.

Since the bosses l4 enter the apertures IS with clearance on all sides,means must be provided to prevent relative shifting of the sectionsbefore and while the screws I6 are being tightened. To accomplish this Iprovide one or more projecting tongues l8 on one of the sections 6, eachof which are adapted to snugly enter notches l9 molded or machined inproper position in the other section 5.

While the preferred embodiment described in the aforegoing is a caseadapted to house a mechanism the invention may be generally applied inthe assemly of parts to form large surfaces such as wall paneling orcontainers too 4 large or uneconomical to mold in one piece; therefore,it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible to variation,modification and change within the spirit and scope of the subjoinedclaims.

Having described my invention, I claim:-

1. In an assembled article, in combination, a plurality of wall parts,each of said parts having an edge adapted to align with and engage anedge of another of said parts, projecting portions adjacent and parallelto said engaging edges, a channel strip adapted to engage saidprojecting portions of two of said plurality of parts to prevent theirdisengagement and screws projecting through said parts and enteringsockets in said channel strip to lock said parts and said channel stripinto a unit, said sockets having closed bottoms and being invisible fromthe exterior side of said strip.

2. In an article of manufacture, in combination, a plurality of moldedwall parts, an edge of each of said parts being adapted to be joined toan edge of another of said parts, a projecting portion adjacent each ofsaid joined edges, an aperture formed by notches in said edges, a formedstrip-like member having flanges adapted to embrace said projectingportion of each of said plurality of molded parts, a boss fixed to saidstrip and positioned intermediate the flanges of said strip adapted toproject into said aperture, a plate overlying said aperture and a screwprojecting from said plate threaded into a socket in said boss forlocking said strip rigidly to said plurality of molded parts.

3. In an article of manufacture, in combination, a plurality of moldedwall parts, an edge of each of said parts being adapted to be joined toan edge of another of said parts, a beveled flange projecting outwardlyadjacent each of said joined edges, a combined clamping and coveringmember overlying said joined edges and said beveled flanges, saidcombined covering and clamping member also having bevel-ed flanges whichengage the beveled flanges on said Wall parts and means for drawing theflanges of said covering and clamping member into clamping engagementwith the flanges of said wall parts.

WILLIAM F. BRECHT.

